Pac 12 Champs Again! On to Regionals!

Last Wednesday the Card was able to overcome a 9 shot deficit in the final round to win the Pac 12 Championship for the second straight year.  The feat can be summed up best with one small fact: this is the first time in program history that we have won back-to-back conference championships.  The Card managed to weather the tough conditions and improved its team score every round despite a slower first round at Palouse Ridge Golf Course in Pullman, Washington.  Palouse Ridge served as a great venue.  It plays fairly open off the tee, but some substantial elevation changes and constant wind with firm and fast greens made it a stout test.  The course is surrounded by rolling hills and is located on Washington State University's campus.

The final round was special indeed as we had the best round of the day and of the tournament despite cold and heavy winds. While we trailed ASU by 9 shots to start the final round, we quickly caught up and were near or tied for the lead within 5 holes of play.  Maverick in particular came out strong going 4 under for his first 6 holes.  He would ultimately go on to tie the lowest round in Pac 12 Championship history, previously set by Tiger Woods, with a 61.  Maverick started the day with a 4 shot lead, but would go on to win by 10 and set the Pac 12 Championship scoring record in the process.

While Maverick's play was exceptional, the final round was truly a team effort as our highest score of the day was a 72.  Overall, freshman Franklin Huang turned in the second best tournament finishing in a tie for 11th while junior David Boote finished tied for 15th.  For full results, click here.

It was a great feeling to bring the trophy back with us to Palo Alto, but we have already turned our attention to NCAA Regionals.  With our Pac 12 win, we guaranteed an automatic bid to Regionals and our play throughout the season earned us a #2 seed.  On Monday we found out that we will be heading out to North Carolina to play the Finley Course located on UNC Chapel Hill's campus.  We are looking forward to the challenge as there are several strong teams in our regional including Florida State University, who is currently ranked #1 in the country.  With 6 regional sites across the country, the top 5 teams at each site advance to NCAA Finals, which will be held at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida at the end of May.  For more information on the NCAA Regional selection process click here.  The team is in full prep mode as we speak and we are hopeful for another great week in Chapel Hill.